Two Subtractions and an Addition

I apologize for taking an extended winter break from the blog, but new schedules and work obligations did get in the way.

I decided to return this week to share the important but tragic news about Matt Barsamian '07, (see below), because he was just too important a person to Columbia Football not to be mentioned. We send our condolences to all his family, friends, and teammates.

And now that I'm back...

Two Tough Coaching Losses

Getting back to more mundane matters, the biggest news of the off season for the Lions besides recruiting commitments is the loss of two of the most respected assistant coaches in the Ivies.

After luring him back from New Hampshire after he briefly left during the 2018 off season, QB coach Ricky Santos left for UNH for real this time. Santos is now basically the head coach in waiting there, and that was too much of and offer for him to turn down. His ability to develop Columbia's QB's will be sorely missed and adds to the question marks about the position going forward.

The other loss is WR coach Todd Gilchrist, who may have been the most popular coach among the CU players and an effective teacher as well. Gilchrist is joining the staff at Holy Cross in the same role as WR coach.

Crystal Ball: Take One

I hope to have a more extensive preview of all Ivy teams going into spring practice. But in the interest of time, let me just make the conclusion of my analysis very clear when it comes to which team must be favored to win the 2019 Ivy race at this point: Dartmouth.

I'll explain why later... but it should be somewhat obvious.

David Sawyer


Final Reported Commit... for now

I was offline when 6-6, 280 pound  OL David Sawyer from Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina committed to the Lions.

Sawyer will be the first Rose grad to come to Columbia Football.

I will update my LionFeeders recruiting database when the official incoming class is announced in April or May.



That brings our reported list of commitments to 27:

1. Sam Antona DB 6"1 180 lbs. Roswell HS Roswell, GA

2. Caden Bell QB 6"0 185 lbs. Junipero Serra HS San Juan Capistrano, CA

3. Bryan Bell-Anderson DB 5"10 170 lbs. Dr. Phillips HS Orlando, FL 

4. Cameron Burt WR 6"4 200 lbs. Blue Valley North HS Overland Park, KS

5. McLeod Buckham-White DB 5"10 171 lbs. Lovett HS Atlanta, GA

6. Cameron Coleman LB 6"1 217 lbs. Rye Country Day School Rye, NY 

7. Drew Davis DE/LS 6"4 240 lbs. Bishop Watterson HS Columbus, OH

8. Dominic Dodson DB 5"11 185 lbs. Central Catholic HS Pittsburgh, PA 

9. Andrew Donovan P/K 6"0 184 lbs. Darien HS Darien, CT

10. Jack Ertz TE/WR 6"4 205 lbs. Grapevine HS Grapevine, TX

11. Alex Felkins K 6"4 170 lbs. Holland Hall HS Tulsa, OK 

12. Ryan Hamilton DB/RB 5"11 195 lbs. Coffman HS Dublin, OH 

13. Will Hamilton OL 6"2 270 lbs. North Gwinnett HS Suwanee, GA 

14. Jaydel Jenkins WR 6"3 180 lbs. San Clemente HS San Clemente, CA

15. Cole Matthiesen TE 6"4 220 lbs. St. Albans HS Washington, D.C.


16. Tavehon McGarry LB/RB 6"0 220 lbs. Bishop Dwenger HS Fort Wayne, IN


17. Hugh McLean DL 6"0 270 lbs. Lake Braddock Secondary Burke, VA

18. Zachary Mills OL 6"4 280 lbs. Mandarin HS Jacksonville, FL

19. Mitch Moyer DE 6"4, 255 lbs. Archmere Academy Claymont, DE

20. Luke Painton TE 6"7 225 lbs. Berks Catholic HS, Reading, PA  

21. Andrew Pruske OL 6"3 255 lbs. Churchill HS San Antonio, TX

22. Railan Peace DB 6"1 180 lbs.Sunny Hills HS Fullerton, CA


23. Kevonte Polk DB 6"0 190 lbs. Lanier HS Sugar Hill, GA  

24. David Sawyer OL 6"6 280 lbs. Rose HS, Greenville, NC

25. Thomas Thibault TE/DE 6"6 225 lbs. Williston Northampton School Easthampton, MA

26. Alex Thompson WR 6"2 185 lbs Punahou School Honululu, HI

27. Scott Valentas DB 6"3, 198 lbs.  Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic HS Wichita, KS